As president of Mercer County Community College, Patricia Donohue has received hefty retirement fund contributions, a lavish expense account, thousands of dollars in relocation money, and thousands more for housing and vehicle stipends, according to a new state audit.

MCCC board officials say perks like these are written into her contract, which pays a base salary of $168,324, and were necessary to make the job competitive and attract her to the position. State officials say they are symptomatic of excessive compensation among New Jersey’s community college presidents.

Executive compensation packages are largely unchecked at the state’s 19 county colleges, according to the report released yesterday by the state comptroller’s office.

“There are no state standards or guidelines for college trustees to rely on when setting compensation terms for their presidents,” State Comptroller Matthew Boxer said.

“As a result, there are huge disparities in not only the salaries of community college presidents, but other forms of their compensation as well. We’re not suggesting a one-size-fits-all approach, but it’s appropriate to set boundaries when schools are spending taxpayer dollars.”

At Burlington County College, the president charged his school for $150 worth of car washes, according to the state report. In Bergen County, the community college president went out for a $460 steak dinner with two college officials and the school footed the bill.

The audit, which examined spending during 2010 and took more than a year to compile, found some New Jersey county colleges pay their presidents over $300,000 a year and then throw in additional perks such as housing allowances and generous retirement contributions.

It is time for the college trustees to start reining in the spending, said Boxer.

Because county colleges have a “notion of affordability,” the expensive compensation packages their presidents received is especially glaring, the report said. New Jersey’s two-year colleges, which enroll nearly 260,000 students, already charge some of the highest county college tuitions in the nation.

A few of the institutions, including both MCCC and Burlington County College, spent more than double the required amount on contributions to their presidents’ retirement packages.

All community college presidents are required to receive retirement benefits though the Alternative Benefit Program. The program requires the state to contribute 8 percent of the president’s salary to the retirement program, and each college’s board of trustees decides whether to contribute additional funds.

MCCC’s board contributed $36,813, to the president’s retirement program in 2010, more than $23,000 above the required amount. Burlington County College’s board of trustees made $43,745 in total retirement contributions in 2010, nearly $29,000 more than the required amount, according to the report.

Dr. Robert C. Messina Jr., who retired in February after 25 years as president of Burlington County College, will receive dental, life and long-term care insurance for both him and his wife for the rest of their lives, according to the report. In the first 10 years of Messina’s retirement, these benefits are projected to cost the college more than $110,000. The report calls this type of college-paid post-employment benefit “unlike that of any other New Jersey community college presidents.” Messina was paid a base salary of $185,050.

Representatives from Burlington County College did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

MCCC’s Donohue took aim at Boxer in a written statement to The Times yesterday, saying that the state was unfairly singling out college presidents for criticism.

“For purposes of the State of New Jersey, the presidents of all higher education institutions work together through the New Jersey Presidents Council. Issuing recommendations for one sector out of context seems to conflict with that basic principle.”

Among other benefits, Donohue, who in 2010 had 13,731 students, was provided a $2,000 per month housing allowance in 2010 as well as a $9,600 vehicle stipend for the year. When Donohue took the job as president in 2007, the school furnished her with a $12,211 relocation allowance.

While he was employed with Burlington County College, Messina was given about $20,000 in 2010 for housing and received $75,000 in three annual payments for unused vacation days between 2008 and 2010. His school enrolled 16,705 in 2010.
Gwendolyn Harris, vice chair of the MCCC board, said the salary and benefits for Donohue are outlined in her contract.

Harris explained that when the board was hiring for the president’s position several years ago, they enlisted the aid of the American Association of Community Colleges, to create a salary and benefit package that would be competitive and similar to those offered in the state and elsewhere.

“We were looking at what would make it an attractive offer,” Harris said.

Some of the presidents racked up tens of thousands of dollars on expense accounts paid for by the school. The money was used to pay for country club memberships, expensive dinners, cell phone bills, hotel stays, gift baskets and more.

In 2010 Messina charged $28,302 to his expense account, according to the report, while Donohue charged $16,926. It is unclear what the money was used for. The total expenses for other colleges in the state range from $648 for Sussex Community College to $45,415 for Brookdale Community College.

A spokesman for the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, which represents the 19 colleges, declined to comment. But he passed along a chart showing the compensation for many of the presidents of the state’s four-year public colleges is significantly higher than for county college leaders.

The comptroller’s report did not look at the compensation of the presidents at four-year colleges. But a survey by The Star-Ledger last year of all 31 of New Jersey’s public colleges found lucrative contracts at many schools, including bonuses in excess of $100,000 for the presidents of Montclair State and Ramapo College.
Several county college presidents have resigned in the last year amid questions about compensation and spending.